Information technology – a livelihood for the disabled

IT opening up opportunities

It is often said that IT is hands for people with physical disabilities, eyes for the visually impaired, and ears for those who cannot hear, which makes it very possible for the disabled to do IT-related jobs.

Although Le Trong Dung, a freshman at the Hanoi College of Information Technology (ESTIH), is limitated because of a crippled left hand, he is the bread-winner in his family. He says IT helps connect handicapped people with the community and opens opportunities for seeking a job. He hopes to land a job at the Nghi Son economic zone in his home province.

According to former ESTIH student Nguyen Thi Duyen, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle-bone disease), IT offers her the chance to integrate into the community and look for a stable job.

“It also helps me travel around the world,” she says.

However, both Dung and Duyen say they are not sure if businesses are willing to take on handicapped people, or if they will be treated equally once recruited.

ESTIH, in coordination with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), set up an IT training programme for the disabled with many incentives in 2007. So far, 90 people have graduated from the programme and two thirds are employed with stable incomes.

ESTIH principal Hoang Duc Khiem says IT is a good field for handicapped people, who generally have a strong will to work hard and do their jobs well.

In addition to the support of the college and sponsors, disabled students need more help from organizations and businesses so that they can have access to jobs when they graduate, Khiem adds.

Business trust in handicapped people

In fact, not many organisations and businesses in Vietnam have employed handicapped people and most of those that do have hired them for humanitarian purposes or under cooperation programmes with foreign charitable organisations, not because they need them.

Experts say that recruiting the disabled opens up opportunities for them and helps businesses as well because handicapped people are generally very motivated and hard-working.

The handicapped also tend to work longer for their employers, which saves costs for training new workers. Businesses that employ disabled people will enjoy corporate income tax and land-use tax reductions or exemptions, and other incentives from the State.

Physically disabled Tran Manh Huy, who is the Director of the Danang-based VBPO Joint Stock Company, says 30 percent of his company's employees are disabled.

IT helps handicapped people overcome their disabilities and narrows the gap between them and other people, Huy stresses.

People with disabilities can take on any company, organisation, or State agency IT-related jobs that do not require much mobility or travel, such as customer care, data processing, website design, etc.

Le Hoang, Director of the Viettotal IT Company, affirms that employment opportunities in his company are open to anyone who can meet the demands of the job. His business currently has one full-time handicapped employee and many freelancers who are disabled.

“If you put your faith in them and offer them the chance for a job, they will not let you down,” he says.